Amaranth
by sniperwolf31
Summary: This is the seventh and final year for Tom Riddle Jr. and never has he once noticed Bellatrix Black until now. Rated M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

**Summary:** This is the seventh and final year for Tom Riddle Jr. and never has he once noticed Bellatrix Black until now.

**Note:**I'm really sorry for the shortness of the chapter. The next ones will definitely be longer than this one. I promise. This is also my first Harry Potter fanfic. I do know there is quite a bit of age difference between Bellatrix and Tom, however that is not the case with this story. Many of my descriptions will be from the movie because I love Ralph Fiennes.

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

The long train ride was rather uneventful for Tom Riddle Jr. His blue eyes wandered along the enormous castle hidden from muggles. It was going to be another dull year since his education had extended beyond what the professors were teaching. He only came back because it was better here than the orphanage. The moment he turns eighteen, he would be forced to leave the wretched place and left on the streets with nothing but knowledge in witchcraft and wizardry. Not even friends. People from both worlds seem to avoid him.

They reached the castle in no time. Friends were meeting and telling them about their summer. No one had ever inquired about his summer ever. He didn't care. Tom preferred to be by himself. It meant there was no one to backstab him.  
>When they walked inside, the Slytherin took a seat at the long table to listen to the Sorting. It was never an interesting thing to Tom so he just ignored it all and ate very little when it came time.<p>

After the meal, Horace Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin, approached him with a goofy smile.

"Great to see you, Tom. You look rather pale. Are you sick?" he asked looking the boy over.

"Same to you, Professor. I feel perfectly fine. I'm always pale, Sir," Tom said, showing no emotion.

"I see. Well, Dumbledore would like to see you in his office as soon as possible."

And with those words, Slughorn waddled off towards the other teachers.

Tom had been to the Headmaster's office more times than he could count. He had a feeling it would be about his life after graduation since he has nowhere to really go, nor family.

When Tom entered the cluttered office, Dumbledore had not shown up yet. The Sorting Hat was not here to provide him company since he was downstairs talking to returning students. The pictures only nodded towards him without any intention to speak to the quiet boy.

The door opened and Tom quickly turned around to greet the Headmaster.

"Sorry for the wait, Tom. Oh my. You are rather pale. Are you ill?" he asked walking over to the annoyed Tom.

"No, I feel perfectly fine. I've always been pale. It must be in my blood. Not that I would know though," he said with a small chuckle.

Dumbledore smiled and offered a strange piece of hard candy.

"Muggles call them Life Savers. Funny though, I almost choked on one a while ago. Not too much life saving going on there. Anyway, I'm sure you probably have a good idea why you are here."

Tom gave a nod and muttered, "When I turn eighteen in December, I will no longer be welcome at Wool's Orphanage. I have already taken what little possessions I own and have brought them here."

The Headmaster nodded, no longer smiling.

"And where do you plan on going?" he asked, sticking a red Life Saver in his mouth.

With this, the orphan let out a small sigh. No amount of smarts could've told him the answer to this question.

"I see…Well, by the end of the year, I shall prepare a place for you to stay that hopefully you will enjoy."

"Sir, I don't mean to be a bother to anyone. Once I get a job, I can live by myself."

Albus Dumbledore let out a tiny chuckle and shook his head.

"Tom, you are no bother. The place I shall find will probably be very comfortable to you. I would prefer if you didn't live alone your first year out of Hogwarts."

Tom nodded knowing it was better not to argue.

Dumbledore smiled and said softly, "You are a very bright student. I'm sure with your grades you can easily find a job at the Ministry. It's just for safety measures, Tom."

With a nod, Tom was dismissed and started walking towards the Slytherin common room. He didn't want a job at the Ministry of Magic. Instead, he really wanted to work at Hogwarts as a Potions professor. Ever since he was eleven, the school had been his home and he wasn't quite ready to leave his first home.

As he was just about to enter the dungeons, someone ran into him and let out a tiny squeal. His head managed to slam into the wall during the fall, causing him to be slightly dizzy.

"Oh! I am so sorry. I didn't mean to," a Slytherin girl said as she began to spazz. Her books flew in every direction and she quickly gathered them up only to drop them again.

Tom really couldn't help but laugh as he rubbed the incoming bump.

"It's fine, really," Tom said, helping the girl up from the ground.

After he helped her up, he stuck his hand back out.

"I'm Tom Riddle."

The girl shook his hand letting out a small smile. She moved her crazy black hair from her face and said softly, "The name's Bellatrix. Bellatrix Black."

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I will try to update as much as possible. I am in college and I have work like everyday. (death) I hope you enjoy. It's been a while since I've written anything.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

**Summary:** This is the seventh and final year for Tom Riddle Jr. and never has he once noticed Bellatrix Black until now.

**Note: **Thank you for reading! Reviews are very welcome (I always love reading reviews. Let's me know what I need to fix and could possibly effect the ending). So here's chapter 2. This is where its going to start becoming a bit dark. Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

The two walked into the empty common room. It was getting late so everyone was probably in their beds getting ready to sleep. Tom could see the skinny girl shaking and wondered if she did this with everyone.

"You aren't related to Narcissus and Andromeda Black by any chance are you?" Tom asked while walking towards the chairs near the fireplace. He knew they probably were, they were just so different from Bellatrix. For one, Narcissus was the most popular Slytherin around and dating the second most popular, Lucius Malfoy. Everyone around the school knew Blacks and Malfoys were one of the remaining Pure-blood families. Tom had heard from a couple of people that if someone were to get married to a Half-blood or Mudblood, they would be disowned from the family. It makes him wonder why he's seen Andromeda and Ted Tonks, a muggle-born, snogging around school.

Bellatrix made a scoff and crossed her legs as she sat down in the dark green chair across from Tom.

"Both are my little sisters, but we prefer not to talk about Andromeda at the moment. Her heart has fallen for a Mudblood. Mother says that if they stay together for much longer and get married, she's going to be removed from our family."

Tom nodded as he confirmed his suspicions. They were very strict in their lineage. With the exception of one family, all Pure-bloods had been in Slytherin.

"Do you have any siblings? Are you Pure-blood?" Bellatrix, breaking the silence.

Riddle shook his head and looked into the fireplace.

"I have no siblings and I don't know my lineage. I'm...an orphan. I've never seen my parents," he said, standing up.

Bellatrix looked up and tilted her head then looked at the clock.

"I didn't know it was that late. I have to get up early, so I can leave enough room to find the classrooms. It was nice talking with you Tom. I've never had a conversation like that with anyone here. Maybe we can meet up later, but for now we should go sleep. Farewell," she said running up the stairs.

Tom looked into the hearth and grimaced. He could have sworn he saw his father's face in the flames.

"Stupid Muggle..." he muttered as he walked upstairs.

In reality, Tom knew his heritage very well. He also knew he was a Half-blood thanks to his good-for-nothing father. It had been just last year when he ventured out to kill him, only to frame his uncle for the crime. No one held suspicion of Tom since Morfin Gaunt had despised Muggles with all of his heart. As for his mother, he wished she was still alive just to see what a mother's love really felt like.

XXXXX

Bellatrix woke bright and early the next morning. She gathered her things and walked quietly out of the room. Before she could get out of the common room, she felt someone grab her and throw her to the ground.

As Bellatrix looked up, she could see three smirking faces. They picked up her books and started to rip pages out, throwing them across the room. It didn't take long for them to destroy her materials and they started to walk out with the oldest Black sister still on the floor, crying. The three girls started laughing when someone started to come down the stairs.

"Aguamenti" a voice yelled. A strong jet of water forced the girls to fall as Tom Riddle walked over to Bellatrix. He walked past Bellatrix and towards the terrified girls.

"If there is one thing I hate more than pompous brats, it's bullies. What has she ever done to you?" he said, pointing his wand at them.

The middle girl laughed and shook her head.

"She's lived. You two freaks make a great couple. No wonder you have no parents. I'm sure your mother killed herself and your dad knew," she dared and started to walk away.

Tom grabbed her in rage and squeezed her arm. Memories raced through his head as he squeezed harder.

Bellatrix could see the girl trying to pull away as her savior stared hard into the girl's eyes. She quickly got up and tried to break them apart.

"Tom! Tom! Stop, you're going to get in trouble!" She yelled before slapping him in the face.

Her hand stung which meant his face probably felt the same. He snapped out of it and let go as everyone in the room stared at him, then ran out of the common room. Bellatrix averted her gaze from him and started to pick her ripped papers from the ground.

Tom squeezed the bridge of his nose before walking out of the room without another word.

The tiny Black girl was very confused at the moment and was throwing her stuff away when Narcissus came down.

"What's with all the noise?" she aske, as she gawked at the ruined room.

Bellatrix threw the ruined papers away before she got ready to leave.

"Tom Riddle stopped those three girls from picking on me," she muttered. Lucius came down the steps in the middle and laughed.

"This will be all over the school. Come, Narcissus, we should head down to breakfast before the gossip ruins our meal."

The two exited the room followed by Bellatrix who decided it best to not go to breakfast today.

XXXXX

Tom Riddle sat outside his first class of the day. This had been the first incident at the school in all seven years he had been there. He really couldn't control himself and before the girl left, he saw the blood falling from the cut marks that magically appeared on her arm. Tom guessed he would be seeing someone within the next few hours. He did not mean to leave those marks on the girl. It just happened, like when he was little.

The professor walked by and opened the door. So far, he was the only student there and took his place in the back corner.

An owl dropped by within five minutes and the professor looked over at Tom.

"The Headmaster would like to see you in his office."

The Slytherin nodded towards the professor and took his leave. It was a record; going to the Headmasters office twice in two days.

When he whispered the password, the statue moved revealing the stairs. As he was about to go up, Dumbledore caught up to him.

"Tom, you have gotten yourself into a mess. Quickly, up to my office," he muttered.

As soon as Tom stepped into the office the doors slammed shut.

"What did you do to that girl and why, Tom?" he asked.

Tom set his stuff down, trying to keep his anger inside.

"I didn't mean to. I didn't know I was creating scratches along her arm!" he started to scream.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed as his head tilted.

"Scratches? Tom, she's gone mental. She won't talk to anyone other than herself, which she's been doing for an hour. Whenever someone gets near her, she freaks out and starts screaming. The nurse has managed to be the only one near her."

This little piece of news surprised Tom. He didn't remember doing anything to her.

Dumbledore walked closer to him and said softly, "Tom, I need to see your memory."

The pale boy couldn't believe what was going on. Lucky for him though, he had taken his memory of his father's killing out of his head and modified it before school started back up.

Tom sat on the closest chair and tried to stay calm about the whole situation. The Headmaster approached him and put his wand to Tom's head, muttering something.

_Dumbledore was inside Tom's body. He couldn't feel any emotion which was strange. Normally there would be a little of something. Wait, there was. It felt...cold._

_He heard footsteps echo from the girls' dorm and peeked around the corner to see three girls standing in the common room. _

_"Bella is such a freak. She has no friends because every time someone tries to get near her, they say she acts really weird. Do you really think she's a Black?"_

_The second girl laughed with a nasal sound before piping in, "Yeah, I asked Narcissus and she really hated to admit it. I heard some boy, during her second year here, was dared to be her friend. He lead her on and when she asked him out, he laughed and said something really mean. It took an entire month in the infirmary for her to go back to her freak self. How could she ever think that someone would want to be near her, especially after 'you-know-what'._

_The third girl, standing near the stairs quickly shushed them out and whispered, "Quick, here she comes!"_

_Dumbledore, or rather Tom, could see Bellatrix make her way down the stairs towards the overly green room._

_They started picking on her, destroying her things. Dumbledore could feel anger seep through the body as his thoughts ran in conflict._

_Tom started to grip the wall and shut his eyes. _

_"I shouldn't get into other people's business. I can't let bullies run around however. I am Prefect after all. I'm just...scared...No. Those girls will pay!_

_The events that unfolded explained why the room was in a complete mess. _

_Then, Tom grabbed the Slytherin girl and stared hard into her eyes. Dumbledore saw what he never knew about Tom and knew it would not be a good idea to repeat what he had just seen through the boy's body._

Tom looked up at the Headmaster as he returned to the present.

"Did you find anything?" Tom asked, wanting to know if he did do something that he didn't know about.

Dumbledore shook his head.

"No. I'm sorry for intruding on your thoughts. It's just required of me. You may go now."

Tom got up and quietly went back to class while Dumbledore sat at his desk, peeling the memory from his head.

"She saw and felt what he did at one time..." the Headmaster muttered, putting the silver matter into a big bowl.

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Can't believe I've already updated this story. I really want to stick with this one and finish it. =) Enjoy your labor day weekend! Oh, I forgot to mention, this story is on deviant art as well. Just search it up. If you can't find it and want the link, PM me and I will get it to you.


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